


A promise of something more

by bluesaturn



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 13:57:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19477309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluesaturn/pseuds/bluesaturn
Summary: Alaric hasn't spoken with Damon in months.Damon ends up at Elena's engagement party and can barely believe his eyes, when Alaric walks in to the room.





	A promise of something more

Damon didn't want to come to this party in the first place. It wasn't for the reason everyone thought but Damon didn't really care to explain himself. Not that he particularly wanted to celebrate the fact that his brother was going to marry the girl he had been in love with for years. Not that it mattered. It hadn't mattered to him for a long time now. All that mattered was Alaric. Although it was hard to pinpoint when, somewhere between monster fighting, drinking and talking, he had found so much more than a best friend. Not that he got the chance to say so in time. Damon doubted it would have changed anything.

Elena was standing close to him, her new best friend at her side. Damon wasn't sure what had happened to Bonnie and her but he also didn't ask. He really didn't care that much and the witch had hated his guts, no matter what he did. 

A couple weeks ago Elena had told Claire about the whole vampire thing and she seemed to have handled it well enough. He knew this because Elena hadn't stopped talking his ear off about it, worried her new friend wouldn't be alright with the whole bloodsucking monsters thing. And because he was trying to a better person, whatever the fuck that meant, he had tried to care. 

He was only half listening to their conversation, lost in his thoughts, as Elena said Alaric’s name.  
Damon stared at them. His and Elena’s eyes met and he was sure she was about to apologise. 

“So is he… a vampire too?”, Claire asked.  
“No. I mean, he was. He died once too but he..uh, got better. It's a long story.”  
To her credit, Elena’s friend only looked startled for a second. Damon might actually grow to like her. Might help with the whole not eating her thing he had to promise Elena. He wasn't quite sure why he still cared what she thought of him. But apparently this was the closest he had to a family now and perhaps he'd be stupid to throw it away again. Maybe he also cared about what Ric would think, but it really didn't matter anymore.  
There wasn't enough alcohol in the world to make it through this night. 

“So why isn't he here tonight?”, the girl asked and Damon didn't know when the answer to that had become so complicated.  
Or why it still hurt so much if anyone so much as mentioned his name. Elena pulled Claire away, probably because she didn't want Damon to have to listen to a retell of all his greatest failures. 

He took another sip from his whiskey and tried to ignore the memories that resurfaced anytime someone talked about Alaric.  
Damon hated being reminded of holding Alaric in his arms, while the man died and he was unable to do anything about it. Of course by then Alaric was barely a shell of himself anymore, wearing the same face Damon had grown to care about but with a personality he couldn't recognize anymore. But it had still been him, and the second he died for the last time, a small part of Damon died with him. 

It felt like every part of his life shattered the moment he lost his best friend. And that was a very Stefan-like thought of him, so he never mentioned it to anyone, but in that moment he couldn't help but wonder if every person's loved ones felt the same way he did. And maybe that was why he didn't like to eat people as often anymore. Maybe he also cared too much what the man thought of him now, even if nothing Damon did would change that anyway. Maybe he also turned into a better person, like Elena kept telling him, but he really wouldn't bet on it. 

He drank some more of the bourbon, like that would help. It was Ric’s favourite and Damon wished for nothing more than to just sit here and drink it with him. He'd be content with that. And for that fleeting moment that had seemed possible and he kept wondering if it was crueler he had to lose him like this. 

Ric didn't show up to Elena’s engagement party just because he was here and Damon wondered if Ric could really hate him anymore for what he did than Damon already hated himself. Some days he wished he could just make a different decision and maybe she wouldn't be dead and Ric wouldn't hate him. And yet, with magic and witches and everything, there was no way he could have fixed this again. Whatever. Maybe it was just a matter of time anyhow. 

Unlike him, Alaric was good. He deserved better. Damon took a final sip of his alcohol and decided he had stayed at this party long enough, as Alaric walked through the door. Damon tried his best no to choke on his drink and stared at the man in disbelief. He looked good, happy, content. He was smiling at Elena and pulling her into a quick hug. Damon decided it was best if Ric wouldn't have to deal with seeing him and tried to make a quick exit up the stairs to his bedroom, as he heard a familiar voice calling after him. 

“Damon!”, Alaric shouted, as he caught up to him. He turned around slowly and looked at his former best friend. He'd imagined this moment about a thousand times but long given up hope that it would ever happen. And yet, here Alaric was, standing right in front of him. 

“Can we talk?”, Ric asked and Damon couldn't get a word out, barely managed to nod and lead Alaric up the stairs to his bedroom. He offered Ric a glass of whiskey without asking and Ric took it without flinching. Small victories, at last. They sat down on the bed and Damon wasn't really sure what to except. Alaric seemed way less angry than the last time he had seen him. He briefly wondered if one of Elena’s talks got to him, if he finally forgave Damon or if Ric was just way better at playing maturity than himself. Probably the latter. But for a moment it felt just like sitting next to his best friend and if he had to, Damon would hold onto this moment for eternity. 

“I'm sorry”, was the first thing that came out of Ric’s mouth. It was the last thing Damon would have betted on and it took a few seconds to register in his mind.  
“Wh-”  
“I understand why you did it. I just - I didn't know how to deal with this.”  
Damon was silent, too scared to ruin this. A chance he did not deserve by any means, but he would have given everything for.  
Ric drank his whiskey and stared at the ground.  
“And I guess I kind of missed you.”  
He said it so nonchalantly, but it made Damon’s heart beat like crazy.  
Maybe he should try to be honest for once, he thought. Damon inched a little closer to Ric, his hand barely touching Ric’s.  
“Don't leave again”, he said and hoped Ric would understand all that he meant by that.  
“I won't”, Alaric answered, before pressing his lips against Damon’s and kissing him gently.  
It felt like a promise of something more.


End file.
